1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for handling, notably counting and/or sorting, coins or similar disk-shaped objects, where the coins are fed to a horizontal loading tray and then transferred, individually and successively, to a circular sorting track equipped with separating means and a sorting disk.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Systems of this type have been long known (refer to DE-OS 21 36 657) and serve to separate coins or comparable disk-shaped objects such as tokens from a jumble of different coins in accordance with their specific diameter while at the same time counting them. The capacity and reliability of these prior coin sorters and counters depend basically on the speed with which the coins are delivered from the horizontal loading tray and passed individually and successively to the sorting track with the sorting disk. The spacing between individual coins is beyond control and individual successive coins may even touch.
According to the aforementioned prior coin sorting and counting machines, there are two trays provided which rotate in opposite directions, of which one (the loading tray) rotates beneath the supply container and forces the coins by means of centrifugal force to the edge, from where they proceed via a transfer channel to the second rotary tray with diameter-specific sorting apertures. According to a more recent development of a coin sorting system, slightly overlapping rotary trays are provided (refer to WO 93/18488), and the coins are picked up successively from the loading tray by elastic, radial "fingers" arranged on the sorting disk. This latter system, also, transfers the coins from the loading tray to the sorting track at uncontrolled spacing.
Hence, with the coin sorting and counting systems known today, only coins with different diameters can be sorted; foreign and false coins with the same diameter can thus not be separated. Likewise it is not possible either to reliably separate coins having the same or approximately the same diameters from a mix of coins to be sorted. All of the prior systems count the coins only at their separating apertures and in such a way that the coins dropping in the aperture are being counted. Owing to the shortcomings in separation, false coins are counted also, with "false" meaning here any coin which does not specifically belong to a sorting aperture, or sorting switch.
A particular problem with the prior system is that the sorting and exact counting of prescribed quantities of coins in conjunction with their bagging or packaging is more than problematic. The problem is that upon recognition, or counting, of the last n.sup.th coin of the prescribed amount of coins to be bagged, at the sorting aperture, the sorting disk must be stopped and that here, with specific sequential groupings of coins, the (n+1).sup.th coin cannot be prevented from tagging along.
Also in view of the transit, or transfer, of the coins from the loading tray to the sorting disk, the prior systems have proven to be problem-prone whenever the transfer is effected by frictional entrainment on the part of the sorting disk. For example, with a thick and thin coin following each other immediately, an insufficient pressure upon the thin coin is a likely result, which can lead to malfunctions. This impairs the accuracy and capacity of the system as a whole.